1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to coverings for architectural openings such as windows, doors, archways and the like and, more particularly, to a new and improved apparatus for producing a known product for use in a retractable covering. The product includes a plurality of flexible vanes that are mounted in parallel relation between parallel sheets of flexible material with the vanes being connected along opposite edges to the opposed sheets of material. The product, after manufacture, is incorporated into a control system so that it can be rolled onto a roller or otherwise gathered adjacent a top or side edge of the architectural opening, or allowed to extend across the opening. The vanes are pivotal about their longitudinal axes so that the vanes can be disposed in a closed overlapping coplanar relationship with each other or an open relationship with each other with gaps therebetween that permit the passage of vision and light.
2. Description of the Relevant Art
Coverings for architectural openings have taken numerous forms for many years with some coverings simply consisting of fabric that is draped or otherwise disposed across the architectural opening and usually in an aesthetically attractive manner and also so that the passage of vision and light through the opening can be altered.
Another popular form of covering for architectural openings is the xe2x80x9cVenetian blindxe2x80x9d which includes a plurality of parallel horizontally disposed rigid slats that are interconnected at spaced locations along their length so that the slats can be retained in a vertically spaced relationship across the architectural opening or can be gathered in a stack at the top of the opening. The slats, which are supported by ladders, can also be simultaneously pivoted about their longitudinal axes so that in a closed position the slats extend in a substantially coplanar relationship while overlapping slightly to block the passage of vision or light through the opening. The slats can also be rotated into an open condition wherein they extend parallel to each other and perpendicular to the opening so that vision and light are allowed to pass between the slats. Slats for Venetian blinds can be made of wood, plastic, metal, or any other suitable material, but the slats are rigid enough along their length so as not to droop or otherwise collapse along their length.
Still another common covering for architectural openings is the vertical blind which is very similar to a Venetian blind except that the slats extend vertically and can be gathered adjacent one or both sides of the opening. The covering can also be extended across the opening with the slats being pivotal about their vertical longitudinal axes between open and closed positions similar to the Venetian blind.
A more recent covering for architectural openings which has received considerable popularity consists of a pair of parallel flexible panels or sheets, which are preferably sheer, that can be extended vertically across the opening in parallel spaced relationship to each other and wherein a plurality of parallel vanes are secured along opposite edges to the opposing panels or sheets of material. The vanes are preferably made of a flexible material that is opaque or translucent. The vanes are supported by the panels of material and can be pivoted about their longitudinal axes by shifting the panels of material in opposite planar directions perpendicular to the length of the vanes so that the vanes move between an open condition wherein they lie parallel to each other and substantially perpendicular to the architectural opening and a coplanar closed condition wherein they block the passage of light and vision. It will, therefore, be appreciated with a product of this type there are numerous options for the user of the product. One option is having the panels or sheets of material suspended vertically across the window with the vanes in their open condition, or a second option with the vanes in the closed position. In still a third option, the entire assembly of panels and vanes can be rolled or otherwise gathered along an edge of the architectural opening. Typically, the panels or sheets and vanes are rolled about a roller across the top edge of the opening even though systems could be employed for gathering or rolling the assemblage of panels and vanes adjacent a side edge of the opening, in which case the vanes would extend vertically rather than horizontally across the opening.
Apparatus currently exists for mass-producing window coverings of the latter type with one example of an apparatus being disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,228,936 which has a Reexamination Certificate No. B1 5,228,936. This patent is of common ownership with the present application and discloses a method for making a product of the above-identified type by feeding converging webs of material, such as sheer, toward a juncture location and simultaneously feeding a plurality of side-by-side contiguous strips of vane material longitudinally between the two webs of material so that the webs and the vanes converge at the juncture location. The strips have been pre-treated with longitudinally extending beads of adhesive with one bead extending along one side edge on one face of the strip and another bead of adhesive extending along the opposite side edge and on the opposite face. When the two webs of material and strips with pre-applied beads of adhesive are received at the juncture location they are compressed and retained in a fixed relationship with each other with the strips being disposed between the two webs of material and subsequently passed through a heater where the adhesive melts and bonds the strips to the sheets of material. The laminate is then cooled to set or cure the adhesive. The resultant product has the two panels or sheets, which can be suspended in parallel spaced relationship across an architectural opening with the vanes disposed in parallel relationship and extending between the two sheets.
As will be appreciated in the aforementioned U.S. Pat. No. 5,228,936, the strips are positioned between the sheets of material in contiguous side-by-side relationship with each other and the strips of material that form the vanes are, therefore, not overlapping as maybe desired. In other words, if the strips of material are only contiguous and do not overlap when secured in position between the opposing sheets of material, the vanes will not overlap when the resultant product is positioned in an architectural opening and the vanes are in a closed condition and, therefore, there will not be a total blockage of light and vision. Accordingly, a shortcoming with the apparatus and process described in the afore-noted patent resides in the fact that the vanes do not overlap but rather are in contiguous side-by-side relationship.
Another machine and process for making a product of the above-described type wherein a pair of opposed panels of material are connected by a plurality of parallel vanes extending therebetween is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,313,999. In that patent, a first web of material is fed in a first longitudinal direction and is intermittently driven so that individual strips of vane material can be fed transversely to the first direction and once desirably positioned, adhesively tack bonded to the first web of material in overlapping relationship with the previously bonded strip. This process continues in an intermittent stepped manner as a plurality of adjacent strips or vanes are connected to the first web of material. Subsequently the first web of material with the vanes having one edge connected thereto are fed to a juncture location where a second web of material is also fed in the first direction so as to be compressed against the vanes and the first web of material so that the vanes which had been pre-treated with beads of adhesive are secured to the webs of material in sandwiched relationship therewith. Of course, the strips of vane material are pre-treated with beads of adhesive with one bead of adhesive extending along one edge of the strip and on one face while the other bead of adhesive extends along the opposite edge and opposite face.
A drawback with the system disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,313,999 resides in the fact that even though the process is generally continuous, the webs of material are intermittently driven while vanes are fed perpendicularly to the first web and adhesively secured thereto. Another disadvantage resides in the fact that the strips of material are not tensioned when being secured to the web and, therefore, it is possible not to obtain uniform tensioning of each strip or vane as it is connected to the first web of material.
It is to overcome the shortcomings in the prior art machines for making architectural covering products of this type that the present invention has been made.
The present invention relates to an apparatus for fabrication of a covering for an architectural opening wherein the covering product has a pair of opposed sheets or panels of material which are interconnected in spaced relationship by a plurality of parallel overlapped vanes extending therebetween. The vanes are made of a flexible material that is preferably opaque or translucent, while the sheet material may be a flexible sheer material that permits some level of passage of light and vision. The apparatus includes three main stations, namely (1) a vane/strip preparation station, (2) a vane/strip handling station, and (3) a laminating station. At the vane/strip preparation station, rolls or webs of material from which the vanes in the covering product are to be made are mounted so that the material can pass through the preparation station while being printed or coated a preselected color, dried, treated with lines or beads of adhesive, cut into elongated contiguous strips and finally re-rolled on a take-up roller stored on a mobile transport cart.
The material is printed with the use of a mobile and interchangeable print/roll cart that includes a self-contained supply drum or tank of liquid dye or ink, an ink flow-through reservoir through which ink from the tank is circulated by a circulating pump, a pick-up roller in communication with the flow-through reservoir, and a transfer roller for removing ink from the pick-up roller, with the transfer roller being designed to apply the ink to the web of material passing thereby. When the web of material is in engagement with the transfer roller, it is passing around a relatively large fabric or web control roller that is rotatably mounted on a framework for the vane/strip preparation station to which the print/roll cart is removably attached. The web of material passing around the fabric control roller is fed through a drying area within the framework of the preparation station so that the printed fabric can be subsequently treated with the application of elongated beads of adhesive.
After having been dried, the fabric is fed past a plurality of side-by-side adhesive applicators adapted to apply laterally spaced lines or beads of adhesive along the length of the web. The beads of adhesive are applied alternately on opposite faces of the web and at predetermined spacings according to the width of the strips from which the vanes in the finished product will be made. After the beads of adhesive have been applied to the web, the adhesive on the web of material is cooled to solidify the adhesive and render it inert so as not to be tacky and the web of material is thereafter passed through cutters which sever the web of material into a plurality of side-by-side strips running longitudinally of the web. The cuts are made in the material such that each strip will have a line of adhesive on one face adjacent one side edge of the strip and on the opposite face adjacent the opposite side edge of the strip.
The strips of material which are disposed contiguously are then fed onto a take-up roller on a mobile transport cart which continuously moves the contiguous strips laterally back and forth a slight distance as they are wound on the roller. The strips are thereby wound about the roller so that the beads of adhesive on overlying layers of strips are misaligned to obtain a relatively even or level wrap of the strips about the take-up roller.
The transport cart, subsequent to a completed wrapping of contiguous strips of material onto the take-up roller, is moved to the vane/strip handling station.
The vane/strip handling station is adjacent to and in longitudinal alignment with the laminating station. The vane/strip handling station is adapted to receive and releasably confine in side-by-side relationship a plurality of transport carts having take-up rolls full of wrapped strips of material. The strips of material from one or more of the carts, which depends upon the height of the window covering to be made as will be explained in more detail later, are fed into a vertical framework which includes a plurality of coordinated strip guide members or supports which allow the strips to pass through the strip handling station so that they emerge from a downstream end of the station in overlapped parallel relationship with each other and in longitudinal alignment with the laminating station.
At the laminating station, first and second supply rolls of sheet material are supported for lamination with strips of material emanating from the vane/strip handling station. The supply rolls of sheet material are mounted so that the material can be fed to a juncture location with the sheets and strips desirably converging at the juncture location in longitudinal alignment with each other. The laminating station includes heating and cooling sections for activating and subsequently curing, respectively, the adhesive that was previously applied to the strips to bond the strips to the first and second sheets of material.
The supply roll of the first sheet material is positioned upstream from the vane/strip handling station and is fed across an inverted U-shaped frame over the vane/strip handling station and downwardly to the juncture location where it is merged with the strip material emanating from the vane/strip handling station. The supply roll for the second sheet material is positioned near the downstream end of the laminating station and is fed upstream along a lower path so as to emerge beneath the strip material emanating from the vane/strip handling station and so as to converge with the strips and the first sheet material at the juncture location. In reality, the strip material is overlayed onto the second sheet material and subsequently this prelaminate is fed into underlying relationship with the first sheet material before the tri-layer laminate is fed into the heating sections of the laminating station.
The tri-layer laminate is confined between transfer belts in the laminating station that move the laminate initially through the heating sections where the beads of inert adhesive are activated to bond the strip material to the first and second sheets of material and subsequently through cooling sections where the adhesive is allowed to cure. The laminate emerging from the downstream end of the laminating station is wound onto a take-up roller on a movable cradle which can then be transferred in any suitable manner to another location where the laminate product can be cut to a desired size and integrated with operating hardware to complete the architectural covering product.
Other aspects, features and details of the present invention can be more completely understood by reference to the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment taken in conjunction with the drawings and from the appended claims.